Tom Cruise didn’t just prove audiences longed to go back to the theater.
The megastar delivered an apolitical smash that united critics and fans alike. Except “Top Gun: Maverick” did even more than that.
The film checked all the boxes that matter at the modern cineplex.
Nostalgia Franchise synergy Action Romance Quality performances Heroism, straight up Not bad for a sequel 36 years in the making.
“Maverick” is this critic’s Movie of the Year, and it wasn’t close. The following films similarly defied expectations, kept audiences riveted and showed that while Hollywood is still steering into a woke ditch there’s room for hope.
The following are in no particular order:
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
A simple, searing tale of a friendship gone south, “Inisherin”...